Manuel Birnbacher Modifies Old Photos in Bizarre & Humorous Ways

Depending on the type of person you are, you may find these altered photographs by Manuel Birnbacher ominous or humorous. After all, pictures with distorted faces are often used in horror movies as an omen, but the cartoony manners in which Birnbacher has altered these historical portraits leaves viewers smirking even if they don’t want to.

Manuel Birnbacher chose civil war photographs specifically for this collection, giving his work an air of authenticity since photo manipulation was more uncommon in an era without Photoshop. Many resulting images are extremely surreal to look at, from men with two faces to cookie monster-esque eyeballs being glued to a person’s ocular sockets.